Find Hope

I'm not really a worrier. I've never really been one. My mother used to joke that I never worried enough... she probably still would. I used to pride myself on a carefree, chase-the-wind and embrace-life spirit. Skydiving, bungee jumping and white water rafting were my idea of recreation and adventure. And then I became a mom. And this unspoken shift happened. A shift I never expected. The worry. The fear. They can be something fierce. Sometimes...

Sex is for marriage. This statement is contrary to a lot of our culture. This statement is even frowned upon. Prude. Square. Boring. I would substitute those words with something else. Healthy. Freeing. Life-Giving. I understand this blog post isn't going to be a popular one. In my teen years, this view was a joke. No one thought I would really "save myself" for marriage. In my early 20's, this view was shocking. No one could believe I really...

What kind of faith do you have this Easter? I love Easter. I love the power Easter demonstrates. I love the love Easter celebrates. I love the Jesus at the center of it. But don't get me wrong, I'm not always super spiritual. These days, just finding some quiet reflection space is a task-and-a-half, and my cellphone battles for it. My belly is bulging as our next baby is just weeks away. Our toddler is bursting with energy before the sun rises. I have a job I...

There is this version of wife and mother and friend and young professional that I wish I was. And then there is this version that I am. How about you? Sometimes the woman I wish I was stares through the mirror at the woman I am. She doesn't scorn me, and I don't resent her. We make eye contact across strange planes of existence, but we never really meet. We're not in opposition to one other, we're not enemies or competitors... we're not...

Ever felt like you've just got WAY too much going on? Like you just need to get away and hide? Like the house of cards you've built in your busy-ness is about to collapse? And you just can't handle it? I have. And it's no joke. One time, I was in a particularly difficult season of life. The pace was high, and I was on the edge. I was in a meeting - a normal mundane meeting - and for no reason at all, I almost burst into tears. Stress had escaped the carefully crafted bounds...

Pain and suffering are my biggest bones to pick with God. It's Saturday morning. I stood at my stove this morning staring at the fresh pancake batter I just poured into the skillet. It was sizzling... and my toddler was tugging at my pajama pants wanting to know what was going on up there. What was going on were tears. Tears for families I didn't know and people I'll never meet. Justin had just shared the story of a family bracing through hurricane Irma when the doors...

Dads, let's be honest - have you ever faced a secret, shameful fear of going home at the end of the day? A quiet, back of your mind resistance to the drive home from the office? I've been there, and sometimes I'm still there. But it never used to be that way. I used to love the drive home. I'd put in a long, focused day at work. Often I'd be a little bagged. I'd have about 20 peaceful minutes before arriving at a quiet house. Sarah and...

We all have good days and bad days. Happy days and sad days. Some really sad days. Some really bad days. But there are small, incremental ways to make any day a little better, a little brighter. They're also the small, hidden things that are almost always included in every good day. Here's what I've noticed... When I'm having a bad day – these are the ways I make it better. When I'm having a good day – these are the things...

For most of my 20's I would pride myself on being independent. I didn't need a man to start my life, to be financially stable, to have my own place or to be secure in who I was. In fact, that's still true... and I still need look to God for those things. In the world's eyes, I wanted to be an independent woman who could work hard, build stuff, haul stuff and fix stuff. And I was proud of that. Then I got married and...

As promised – Justin is answering some questions to let us dig deeper into his real life faith story. You can get the episode by subscribing to Rose's podcast on iTunes, or listen in on the interview here: Your story is pretty extreme. How did you take criticism or doubt from those who didn't believe you? I could totally understand where people who were skeptical were coming from, and if I were in their shoes I likely wouldn't have believed it either. But you know, even in the moment, the skepticism...